4.6 SR 07-01-2013 Elk REQUEST FOR ACTION
River
TO ITEM NUMBER
Mayor and City Council 4.6
AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY
Consent July 1, 2013 Jeremy Barnhart,Deputy Director,
CODD
ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By
Letter of Support Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Cal Portner, City Administrator
REVIEWED BY
ACTION REQUESTED
Approve by motion a letter of support to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency for Elk River Station
II.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
As part of their review process, the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) has requested a letter
of support for John Duffy's Elk River Station II project,proposed for the west side of Twin Lakes Road.
At the request of Mr. Duffy, the Council recently voted their acknowledgement of the findings of the
2012 Housing study,which identified the need for 90 additional units. MHFA is requesting more site
specific comments. Based on the information developed thus far, staff is not supporting anything more
than general comments, as site design is an important part of the city approval process. Issues including
access, screening,play areas,parking, and architecture play a role in a successful project.
The letter drafted by staff for the Mayor's signature attempts to outline the support received thus far for
the project,without waiving all future requirements.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
None
ATTACHMENTS
• Draft letter
• Minutes from May 20, 2013
• Request for comments from Minnesota Housing Finance Authority
POWERED BY
N:\Public Bodies\Agenda Packets\7-01-2013\x4.6 sr MHFA intro£docx Na U R E
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Elk
River
13065 Orono Parkway
Elk River,MN 55330
July 1, 2013
Minnesota Housing&Finance Agency
Mary Hieb
400 Sibley Street, Suite 300
Saint Paul,MN 55101-1998
(651) 296-8185
Mary.Hieb&state.mn.us
www.mnhousing.
Coachman Ridge Apartments (locally known at Elk River Station II)
Dear Ms. Hieb:
The City of Elk River recognizes the need for additional workforce housing,which was the
conclusion of a housing study commissioned and accepted by the city in 2012. Mr. Duffy has
presented general information related to a planned project near our Northstar Train Station;this
location required an amendment to the zoning ordinance,which was approved in May of 2012.
While the city cannot give unconditional support for a project that has not been reviewed in detail,
the city has laid a foundation for additional workforce housing,including making appropriate land
use changes to facilitate the referenced project.
Sincerely,
John J. Dietz
Mayor
Phone: 763.635.1000
Fax: 763.635.1090 P 0 W E R E 0 O Y
www.ci.elk-river.mn.us [NAIUREI
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City Council Minutes Page 5
May 20,2013
_____________________________ r
Councilinember Wilson felt this topic seems to be of interest of the community and felt it
i important and reasonable to find ways to reduce train horn noise,
Councihnember Burandt concurred with Councihnember Wilson's statements.
Mayor Dietz also concurred,and noted with the increase in train traffic in the city,this
would be a reasonable cost to determine what the city's options and final costs would be.
h/ir. Feinrite would provide the Council with several proposals for approval at a future
meeting of a specific company and proposed cost.
MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER WILSON AND SECONDED BY
COUNCILMEMBER WESTGAARD TO AUTHORIZE STAFF TO OBTAIN
PROPOSALS FOR THE COMPLETE STUDY OF IMPROVEMENTS TO
QUIET TRAIN HORNS BY HIRING A SPECIALIST TO PERFORM A RAIL
CROSSING DIAGNOSTIC STUDY,AND TO DETERMINE FINAL COSTS FOR
IMPLEMENTING QUIET ZONES AS OUTLINED IN THE STAFF REPORT.
MOTION CARRIED 4-1. COUNCILMEMBER MOTIN OPPOSED.
8.6 Workforce Housing Concept Support
1\/Ir.Barnhart presented the staff report.He explained Ivlr.Duffy's consideration in applying
for Low Income Housing Tax Credits with the h4innesota Housing Finance Administration.
Before doing so,Mi.Duffy requests confirmation from the Council of their support of a
project which would address the city's need for affordable or workforce Housing. This need
was based upon the housing study accepted by the Council in 2012,indicating the demand
for 90 additional units of affordable or workforce housing by 2017.At this tine,the support
requested does not requite Mr.Duffy to indicate a specific project location for affordable or
workforce housing,but because of considerable financial obligations Mt.Duffy's application
would require, he is requesting the city's support.
Councih-nember Motin was not it favor of agreeing with this support if the proposed
location of Mi.Duffy's project specifically listed Elk River Station,as previously suggested,
although He was in support of the construction of additional affordable or workforce
Housing.
i Councilmember NVilson stated he would support this request due to the findings from the
' housing study,noting the need for affordable Housing in the conununity.
Counc..ilmember Westgaard agreed-%,ith Counclnember Wilson's statements, and further
reiterated the support was based upon the need for the housing,and not for a specific
location.
Mayor Dietz stated he agreed with both Counciltnember Westgaard and Councihnember
Wilson's statements.
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MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER WESTGAARD AND SECONDED BY
COUNCILMEMBER WILSON THAT THE COUNCIL RECOGNIZES THE 2012
HOUSING STUDY IDENTIFIES THE NEED FOR 90 AFFORDABLE OR
WORKFORCE HOUSING UNITS BY THE YEAR 2017,AND THE COUNCIL
DESIRES TO ACCOMMODATE THOSE UNITS BY THAT TIME. 1110TION
CARRIED 4-1. COUNCILMEMBER MOTIN OPPOSED.
II
Minnesow 1 400 Sibley Street I Suite 300 1 Saint Paul,MN 55101-1998 1651.296.7608
800.657.37691 fax:651.296.81391 tty: 651.297.23611 wwmrnnhousing.gov
Housing K! Equal Opportunity Housing and Equal Opportunity Employment
June 21, 2013 JUN 2 4 2013
The Honorable John Dietz
City of Elk River
13065 Orono Parkway
Elk River, MN 55330
Minneapolis Housing—Notification of Local Official
Dear Mayor Dietz:
Minnesota Housing and its funding partners have received a request for multifamily funding referenced on the
attached Notification of Local Official form. We provide selected applicants financing for the development,
construction, acquisition and rehabilitation of decent, safe and affordable rental housing.
As part of the review process, Minnesota Housing is interested in receiving your community's comments regarding
the proposed development(s). Please provide any comments you may have on the proposal(s) to Minnesota Housing
by July 19,2013. If you have previously submitted comments on the following proposal(s), it is not necessary to do
so again, unless you wish to add new or additional information.
Please address your comments to:
Minnesota Housing
Mary Hieb
400 Sibley Street, Suite 300
St. Paul, MN 55101-1998
Mary.Hieb @state.mn.us
If you have any questions, please call Mary Hieb at (651) 296-8185, or toll free at 1-800-657-3701. Thank you in
advance for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
' ,
Marcia Kolb
Assistant Commissioner, Multifamily Business
Notification Local Official Minnesota
Housing
_0�fj
inancem ens
1. Please provide the following information in typewritten form and submit electronically.
2. Please provide the name of the local official jurisdiction and name and address of the political jurisdiction's chief
executive officer (in most cases Mayor) in which the proposed project will be located.
Name of Political Jurisdiction:City of Elk River
The Honorable John J. Dietz Mayor 763-441-5783
Name of Chief Executive Officer Title Telephone
13065 Orono Parkway Elk River MN 55330
Address City stare Zip
jdietz @ci.elk-river.mn.us
E-mail address:
Notification of Housing Proposal
Coachman Ridge Apartments Elk River xxx Twin Lakes Road
Development Name City Street Address
Duffy Development Company, Inc.
Developer
1 ® ❑ ❑ ❑
#of Buildings New Substantial Adaptive Historic
Construction Rehabilitation Reuse Building
Unit Sizes Proposed Proposed
Unit Mix Rent Amounts
Efficiency/SRQ:
1 Bedroom: 9 $695
2 Bedroom: 26 $830
3 Bedroom: 17 $940
4 Bedroom:
Total: 52
Brief description of proposal:
Coachman Ridge Apartments is proposed as a four stork, 52 unit apartment building with undergroun
parking The design will continue the neighborhood's focus on the rail road and be very similar to Th(
Depot at Elk River Station The units noted above will range in size from approximately 800 square
feet to approximately 1,300 square feet and will include a full kitchen appliance package and clothes
washers/dryers in the unit. The exterior of the building is proposed to have an asthetically pleasing
mix of materials designed to blend in with the surrounding neighborhood. Common areas in the
building will include an on-site management office, a business office for resident use, a community
room, an exercise room and supportive services office space.
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Notification of Local Official-HTC Form 18 1 of 1 4/2013
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Coachman Ridge Apartments will be for general occupancy providing affordable housing options for
residents of Elk River. All 52 units will be affordable to families with incomes at or below 50% of the
Area Median Income (AMI) which will help the City of Elk River meet the needs of it residents. Four o
the units will be set aside for families experiencing long-term homelessness and those rents are set tc
be affordable to families with very low incomes. The supportive services for these families will be
provided by The Salvation Army Twin Cities Social Services, based in Roseville, MN. They also provid
the services at The Depot.
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Notification of Local Official-HTC Form 18 1 of 1 4/2013